Many prior art media devices can receive radio broadcasts from sources including FM, AM or satellite broadcasts. Signals can be transmitted from one source to another via physical means or, increasingly, wirelessly. Typically, signals that are convertible into data, audio sounds, visuals or text are transmitted between devices via a cable or a wire. Transmission of signals via cables or wires restricts the distance of signal transmission as well as increases cost of communication.
The rapid pace of development in communications technology has seen wireless communication become an integral part of our lives. A wireless connection, detection or communication involves the linkage of two or more devices without the use of physical wires. Typically, wireless connection, detection or communication utilizes spread-spectrum or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation technology based on radio waves to enable communication between devices within a defined area. Wireless communication technology gives users mobility to move around freely within the defined area while still being able to communicate with other wireless devices within the same defined area.
Conventional wireless communication technology connects two or more devices through a common network source. The two or more devices therefore rely on the common source for establishing wireless connection for data communication. However, in situations where there is an absence of the common network source, no communication is possible between the two or more devices.
It is also desirable that different varieties of potable devices that are communicatively incompatible, such as laptops, cellphones and MP3 players, is capable of establishing direct connectivity without the need of a common source or network.
There is therefore a need for establishing wireless connectivity between communicatively incompatible devices to enable data communication between the devices without the need of a common network source.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a device peripheral comprising a controller having a plurality of converters, a transceiver controllable by the controller for performing a signaling operation, the signaling operation being one of receiving reception signals, transmitting transmission signals and simultaneously receiving the reception signals and transmitting the transmission signals, and a data interface couplable to a device for communicating the controller with the device, the controller for identifying one of the plurality of converters for use during data communication with the device. More specifically, first media data provided by the device to the controller is converted by the identified one of the plurality of converters into transmission data for transmission by the transceiver as the transmission signals, and reception data received by the transceiver as the reception signals is converted by the identified one of the plurality of converters for into second media data for provision to the device.